For more than a quarter of a century one of the greatest feats in Irish military history was cast aside and the memory of a glorious battalion who fought miraculously for six days as they were outnumbered 20 to one, hidden – but finally their story has been unveiled to the world.

The bittersweet recollection of the 150 gallant Irishmen who held off 3,500 mercenaries in the Congo in 1961, without one single Irish soldier paying with his life, is almost too tall a tale to believe.

And for many years this story of remarkable human resilience was buried, after the men returned home to be branded the “Jadotville Jacks,” and the ultimate lie was uttered – that these men were cowards, reports the Irish Mirror.

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But with a new movie – The Siege at Jadotville, starring Jamie Dornan as Commandant Patrick Quinlan – now released across cinemas nationwide the legend of the 35th Battalion A Company has finally been told.

Military analyst, ex–soldier and former Ballyfermot lecturer Declan Power, who wrote the book on which the film in based, said: “For new generations of Irish soldiers, Jadotville has now become a place synonymous with courage and honour… as it was and as it should be.

“A Company eventually arrived home to a torchlight procession through the streets of Athlone. Particular affection was shown to Comdt Quinlan for having brought home safely the sons, husbands, sweethearts and friends of so many who had gathered.

“But then the story was quickly forgotten. Some believed the surrender was an embarrassment – some believed personal rivalry was the cause.

“Though it lay dormant for years, the Jadotville story eventually resurfaced. Veterans of the battle like John Gorman and Liam Donnelly continued to pressure politicians for an enquiry and a public setting straight of the record.

“Irish people were shocked to learn how the soldiers were deployed to an isolated area by UN authorities against the advice of senior military advisors, only to be attacked by the very people they were sent to protect.”

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The movie reclaims a mesmerising time in Irish history, unearthing one of the nation’s proudest crusades and places it in line with classic siege battles relived on the silver screen, such as 1964’s Zulu starring Michael Caine.

That movie catalogued a David versus Goliath conflict won by 139 British troops against 4,500 Zulu warriors in 1897 as they defended a mission station, Rorke’s Drift in Natal Province, South Africa.

But whereas the British lost 17 men during that legendary battle, the Irish lost not one man in the Congo against the most savage, bloodthirsty rebel attack ever witnessed by the Irish Army in modern times.

And while the British were honoured with a record number of Victoria Crosses and the country’s hope was restored in the military in harsh times, the exact opposite occurred in Ireland where the men were shunned for their stunning heroism.

Comdt Quinlan, a 42-year-old Kerryman, led A Company to defend the tiny mining town of Jadotville across six days in September 1961 as 3,500 African rebels weighed down on them.

The battalion had been trapped. The main body of Irish troops had been attending a Mass with their chaplain Fr Tommy Fagan as the native troops led by the French and Belgians launched their attack.

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Mr Power said the enemy “swiftly advanced, sprawled across their jeeps and like extras out of Kelly’s Heroes they felt invincible – the Irish wouldn’t know what hit them”.

A Belgian businessman had informed the enemy about the morning mass parade and the rebels used this opportunity to target the remaining Irish, raining gunfire and shells down on the men.

The Irish, who had poor weaponry and supplies, defiantly fought off the rebel army even as it seemed all hope was lost as other UN Irish and Swedish troops failed to reach them.

Mr Power added: “However, they didn’t bank on Offaly man Sergeant John Monahan. Having just finished shaving and with his towel still draped around his shoulders Monahan vaulted a couple of trenches to get to the nearest Vickers machine gun. With this belt-fed weapon he started to lay down accurate bursts of machine gun fire which broke up the Katangan attack and caused the jeeps to career wildly.

Most of the men were lucky – their commanding officer Comdt Quinlan had ordered them to dig trenches on their arrival and this effort was now saving lives.”

The outnumbered Irish were eventually forced to surrender to the rebels, indigenous tribesman and Belgian and French mercenaries with WWII experience and sophisticated weaponry.

Their supplies and ammunition were exhausted, but they had managed to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy.

A Company were held as prisoners for almost a month but none were killed. And when they finally returned home they didn’t arrive to a heroes’ welcome – but instead found their country had turned her back on them.

They were regarded as cowards for surrendering six days into the mission. Last week, after 55 years of their heroism hidden by this state, more than 60 former soldiers and their families were finally honoured by the Defence Minister Paul Kehoe at Custume Barracks in Athlone.

Veterans of the siege said the recognition was long overdue. Mr Power said: “The surviving veterans of Jadotville and the family of the troops’ commanding officer Comdt Quinlan were delighted with the screen representation.

As the writer of the book the film was adapted from, and as a former soldier myself who has spent time in Africa, I was deeply impressed by representation of the battle scenes and the fine performances of a largely Irish cast who have breathed new life into an important incident in Irish modern history.”

This weekend the book will be reissued with a new foreword and Jamie Dornan on the cover dressed as Comdt Quinlan. The film, on show at cinemas nationwide, will be released on Netflix on October 7.